I do not think Mr Smith meant any harm with his article.
Sure he did. Apparently insulting people for not liking his gun wasn't enough and so he has taken to insulting other brands of guns.
When I took my first class from Clint Smith, he downplayed frills on guns even though he carried and shot his engraved Baer 1911. He had no problem with putting it down on the gravel and did not baby it, so I figured that was alright. Like he said, you should not carry a gun that you don't want banged up and over time with practice and carry, it happens. It was his contention that the frills are what often cause problems under circumstances of getting banged around. Okay fine.
Later classes, things were a little more commercial. They then had the TR AR15 with lots of bells and whistles and particularly features that in a previous class he said were not great for a fighting gun. Somebody asked about the AR15 and the frills and he said the platform was solid and the frills were frills. Okay fine.
Then came the lovely article in American Handgunner where he referred to those who did not like his S&W .44 special TR edition as "
turd suckers." I don't like it. So I am a turd sucker and won't be going back to visit him, Heidi, and that mutt that shows up occasionally in pictures of them. I also now see where he has gone full commercial with the TR tactical light system with all of the bells and whistles that 4 years earlier he said were just problems waiting to occur at times when you most don't want to have problems, in the dark with a bad guy somewhere around you.
Prior to that, Smith called a class of returning students gun school junkies. I was in the class. He apparently felt most of us weren't there so much for gun handling as entertainment, escape (from the home and family, like a vacation) etc. So I am apparently a gun school junkie who has nothing better to do with a bunch of money than waste it on training that really probably isn't necessary for me or my situation as I am not a gun professional. So, I am a turd sucking gunschool junkie. Thanks Clint.
I don't blame him for going the commercial route. I am surprised he didn't do more of it sooner. There is nothing wrong with making profits, but like so many gunshop owners, he isn't always kind to his clients or potential clients.
In one area he shined, however, was in his compliment of instructors. I took only pistol classes there and Clint spent minimal time with the students, letting his instructors do most of the work. What time he did spend was in taking students through the Terminator, but probably 80% of the class was not taught by him. If his former instructors in Texas put together their own school, I would sign up with them in short order. I won't be signing up with Clint.
